This Is Us Season 1 Episode 15 Recap: Rebecca and Jack's Fight Raises Some Difficult Relationship Questions

The Valentine's Day episode of This Is Us ended in perhaps the least romantic way possible: Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) had their first major fight of the season. Dan Fogelman warned us about these last four episodes, y'all. This is just the beginning!

The surface issue of the couple's fight was Rebecca's desire to go on tour with her band. Jack supported the idea, even though he suspected Rebecca's handsome, sketchy bandmate named Ben had feelings for her. As it turns out, Rebecca and Ben actually dated when she was 19 years old, a fact she never disclosed to Jack. (He found out about this only because Ben casually slipped the tidbit into a conversation after Rebecca's show.) Jack was understandably hurt by this bombshell; he felt betrayed. But Rebecca sees the issue differently: She didn't tell Jack because her relationship with Ben was a two-month blip during her teenage years. According to her, it was nothing, and she thought Jack would ask her to stop singing if he found out.

Which he did. Now Jack doesn't want Rebecca to tour with the band. He told Rebecca that he truthfully never wanted her to leave and agreed only because he thought she deserved something for herself. Rebecca's response to this was poignant: "And now I don't deserve that?"

"For the past 16 years, I have put everything and everyone ahead of myself—you and the kids," Rebecca explained to Jack. "I just knew that if I were ever to tell you about this whole Ben thing, you would spin out about it, and I needed to have something for myself without you getting in the way."

Check out this scene for yourself in the video, below:

This is a tricky situation. Of course, Rebecca should still be able to go on tour. Her personal aspirations have taken a backseat for almost two decades, and she should absolutely put herself first. All mothers should!

But it's not that black-and-white, because Rebecca isn't exactly innocent in this situation. Some of Jack's feelings are totally valid too. He has every right to feel hurt and lied to by Rebecca. (Admit it: If your partner was spending every night with their ex, you'd want to know!) Plus, the fact that Rebecca kept this a secret is suspect in itself. If her previous relationship with Ben was inconsequential, as she claims, then why couldn't she just tell Jack about it? Jack's reaction to this whole situation is very real.

In fact, this whole fight is very real, and that's why it's difficult to decide who's "right" and who's "wrong." Life isn't that clean-cut. Their argument raises a lot of difficult questions about trust. How much do we have to tell our partners about the past? Where is the line between irrationally jealous and rightfully concerned? Is Jack just "spinning out"? Did Rebecca actually betray him?

Here's what we know for sure: None of this should affect Rebecca's music goals. Yes, Rebecca probably should've told Jack about Ben. Had she done this, they could've worked through the issue together and maybe it wouldn't have been such a big deal now. Regardless, Rebecca has sacrificed too much of her personal life to let this dream go away. She supported Jack through his issues with alcohol (which last night's episode hinted might be returning). He made several poor choices that Rebecca forgave, and she continued to lift him up. Obviously, Rebecca's minor error in judgment isn't the same as this. It's not even close. But she deserves the same consideration.